The Wharton Place: A Novel

The Wharton Place is a novel told from the first-person retrospective point of view of Kate Wharton, an eight year old girl from Kentucky. When Kate’s estranged grandfather dies, Kate’s family unexpectedly inherits a piece of property in rural Tennessee. Faced with mounting financial trouble and his own concerns about his legacy, Kate’s father moves the family to the farm, even though he has no experience working the land. The novel will cover Kate’s adjustment to her new life as well as her maturation into a young woman.

The critical introduction to this piece analyzes two classic novels, To Kill a Mockingbird and Jane Eyre, to better understand the advantages and workings of the child retrospective narrator. The essay discusses the narrative arc of retrospective novels, how later trauma affects the narration, and how the narrative distance between child and adult shapes the novel.